Farm Animals

Usborne Beginners

by Katie Daynes, Christyan Fox (Illustrator), Nickey Butler (Designed by)

This exploration of farm animals is part of a series introducing children to the wonder of the world around them. It has two reading levels, with a simple sentence on each page for beginners, accompanied by more complex information which can be read as the child's ability grows.

Genres: Animals, Childrens, Science, Picture Books, Nonfiction

32 pages, Hardcover

First published May 30, 2003

About the author

Katie has been writing non-fiction children's books for almost half her life and loves questioning the world from a child's point of view. She's developed some of Usborne's bestselling series, including the See Inside books and the Lift-the-Flap Questions & Answers series.

Reviews

[Jazzy Lemon · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good book to read in another language but not the truth about how farm animals are really 'kept'.

[Tara McMahon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like tyis book a lot i learn a lot.

[Julianna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reviewed for THC Reviews
"4.5 stars" Farm Animals is a non-fiction, children’s picture book with text geared toward early readers. It takes children on a journey to the farm, discussing all kinds of animals that might be found there and the reasons farmers might keep them, such as for their meat, milk, eggs, wool, etc. There are super-short chapters talking about what farms are, what feeding time might be like, and how ranches are a type of very big farm. There are also chapters on egg-laying, milking, and shearing. Then it discusses specific types of animals that might be kept on farms. Here, I liked that the author didn’t just stick with traditional farm animals like cows, chickens, and pigs, but also broadened her scope into other types of animals like fish, crocodiles, and ostriches, which kids might not realize are kept on farms. There’s even a chapter on very cold and very hot climates where you might see animals like reindeer or camels being farmed. At the end there’s a glossary of farm words and instructions for accessing Usborne Quicklinks to learn more.

Overall, I think this is a great book for young children to learn more about farms and the types of animals that live on them. It’s appropriate for younger pre-readers, but written in accessible language tailored just for beginning readers. One thing that impressed me enough to bump up the rating a half star is that the Usborne Quicklinks currently still exist and seem to have been kept up to date, which is almost unheard of for a book this old (published in 2002). This little book was well done and has left me interested in trying other books in the Usborne Beginners series as well as more by author Katie Daynes.

[Asho · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this one to the girls rather quickly, as it needed to go back to the library. It's a nice little reference book about animals, although slightly too long to hold the 3-year-olds attention completely. Toward the end I began skipping pages and she didn't notice.

[Carrie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This beginner's book introduces children to farm animals and farming, what animals' uses are, and the proper names for parents and babies (pigs and piglets, hens and chicks, cows and calves).

[Tara · Rating 2 out of 5]

Never cot my attention